I have talked before about how I tend to see the same trailers over and over, due to the volume of movies I see. While I do appreciate a trailer that doesn’t show me most of the movie in two-and-a-half minutes, sometimes I have to worry about a movie when it’s finally released and I still have no idea what the plot is. Such was the case with “The Secret Life of Pets.”

The only trailer I ever saw in theaters was the one showing the pets misbehaving after their owners have gone to work. I did find a different one online when researching this review, but I don’t remember ever seeing it in theaters. Even so, I suspected this single teaser trailer was probably just the first couple minutes of the movie. There were a few extra scenes added for the TV spots, but they did little to expand my knowledge of the plot. I was basically going into a family film with a near-zero idea of what to expect.

Max (voiced by Louis C.K.) is a dog who has been owned by Katie (Ellie Kemper) since he was a pup. One day, Katie brings home a new “brother” for Max, a giant dog named Duke (Eric Stonestreet). Max and Duke don’t like each other very much, and each one attempts to make the other look bad so Katie will get rid of him. This results in Max and Duke breaking free from a dog park and getting lost in the city without their tags.

They end up getting caught by Animal Control officers, only to be set free by a bunny named Snowball (Kevin Hart), leader of a gang of abandoned pets. Snowball’s gang despises humans, and Max and Duke lead the gang to believe they do, too. When their deception is revealed and the dogs escape, Snowball makes it his new mission to hunt down and kill Max and Duke.

Meanwhile, Gidget (Jenny Slate), the dog who lives across the alley from Max and harbors an unrequited love for him, notices he and his new roommate aren’t with the other dogs when the dog walker brings them home. She recruits a group of pets to go out into the city with her to find Max and bring him home.

“The Secret Life of Pets” doesn’t quite live up to its title. Minus those first few minutes and a party scene later on (both segments being where most of the trailer came from), it really isn’t showing us a “secret life.” It’s just a typical pets-trying-to-get-home-to-their-owners movie, one we’ve seen countless times in both animated and live-action forms. The addition of Snowball’s gang chasing them is really the only twist, here, and that’s not even much of an addition.

Still, the movie has more than a fair share of humor and charm. The voice cast above is complemented by other great names, such as Albert Brooks, Dana Carvey, Steve Coogan, Lake Bell and Hannibal Buress. They all have a terrific sense of comedy which shines through their animated counterparts, and they breathe life into the average story. Special kudos go out to Jenny Slate. Between this and “Zootopia,” she has created two of the most entertaining animated characters of the year.

While the script is pretty routine, it does have a few inspired moments. There’s the opening segment, of course, as well as the party. Additionally, we get treated to a scene at a sausage factory that is aimed directly at the adults in the room, both in content and implied themes.

“The Secret Life of Pets” isn’t going to end up anywhere near the best animated film of the year, but it’s entertaining enough that if you need to get the family out of the house on a scorching afternoon, this will be a fine choice for you.